Angela Merkel calls US retraction of support ‘sobering and somewhat depressing’

“I regard this as much like a family quarrel”.

It was only six weeks ago when U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron grinned, laughed, and hugged their way through a state visit in Washington, showing all the signs of two leaders with a genuine friendship.

Some Twitter users did not agree with Bolton’s opinion, criticizing Trump’s policies and the way his administration deals with USA allies.

It’s a startling attack on the leader of the USA neighbour and ally.

The US and its allies have been locked in a bitter dispute of trade tariffs and perceived trade “inequality” for quite some time.

Europe will implement counter-measures against USA tariffs on steel and aluminium, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday, voicing regret about President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw support for a Group of Seven communique.

Trump left the meeting between the world’s leading industrialized countries with a warning to US allies, saying that if they don’t remove trade barriers with the USA then they will face consequences.

Yet, even before the ink on the announcement by the two ministers was dry, a spokesman of an organization which named itself the “Manbij Military Council” (whose Twitter account looks like the one of PKK terrorists, adorned with a photo of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan) said, “The U.S. gave guarantees to protect Manbij after the Turkey deal”. “I don’t think that ratcheting up the rhetoric is going to improve things”.

The president called for the G-7 to readmit Russian Federation, to the shock of the other foreign leaders, who, in concert with then-President Barack Obama had kicked the country out of the club as a rebuke to Moscow for illegally annexing Crimea. Trump said it should be readmitted, an idea that was unlikely to gain any traction at the G7 gathering, which groups Canada, the United States, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Germany. The EU is also attending the summit.

Mr Trump will skip G7 meetings about climate change, clean energy and ocean protection.

Trump tweeted Saturday evening, saying he was responding to the Canadian leader, who he called dishonest and weak.

“Just another #G7 where other countries expect America will always be their bank”, Bolton wrote.

Although Trump and Kudlow have since claimed Trudeau “stabbed us in the back” and was the reason for the U-turn, it is Trump’s actions that other G7 leaders appeared to find frustrating. “Everyone agreed, including President Trump”. They tried to have close relations with him.

Trump showed no sign of backing down on Friday after accusing both France and Canada of imposing massive tariffs on USA goods, and then lashing out at Trudeau for “being so indignant”. In one picture, while the former United States president is seen engaging in talks with the experts, in the other picture he can be seen sharing a light moment with Angela Merkel with watching the European soccer match.